Congratulations
by thefastlane
Summary: She pretended to punch him on the shoulder. He pretended like it hurt. I pretended like I wasn’t dying inside. He's in love. So is she...with someone else. Miley's engagement party. [oneshot] [both MxJ and MxO]


**CONGRATULATIONS**

_type: one-shot._

_pairings: j/m, m/o_

_synopsis: she pretended to punch him on the shoulder. he pretended like it hurt. i pretended like i wasn't dying inside…miley's engagement party._

_inspiration: "congratulations", by blue october, featuring the lovely and amazingly talented imogen heap. AMAZING AMAZING SONG._

_reviews: much appreciated._

_disclaimer: don't any of these characters OR the blue october song. _

_rating: T, for some swearing._

_a/n: just a little something for you oliver fans. got to be fair to all of you! next chapter of NQAFT will be up soon, so this is just a little something to hold you guys up. shameless self-promotion: if you liked this go check out my other 2 HM fics, "glamorous" and "not quite a fairy tale" and review. also, the lyrics to the song this is based on are at the very end; I STRONGLY recommend you buy blue october's cd _foiled_ because it is amazing, or at least get "congratulations" off iTunes. if you look at the lyrics and are looking into it, the girl's parts are miley, the guy's are oliver's. peace!_

………………………………………………………………………

I'm a guy. So even with my love for, you know, macho things like football and beer and _Fight Club_ and Jessica Alba half-naked and you know, zombie slaying or whatever it is girls are into these days, I could appreciate the amount of effort that had gone into the elaborate decorative scheme at the nightclub. The walls were draped with a silky whitish fabric gathered by pink bows. The tables were adorned with a similar sort of fabric, with bundles of pink and white roses everywhere, with scattered rose petals all over the floor, and the chairs were elegantly swathed with lush, soft pink crushed velvet. Don't ask me why I know what crushed velvet is. Or if I cried during _The Notebook_. Fine. I may have slipped a tiny bit. But in my defense, it was _sad_! _Breathe, Oken. You're a man,_ I reminded myself.

You know, those moments before she entered the room were the last thing I remember clearly. It was all kind of a blur. I told myself over and over that I was supposed to come, that she wanted me to be there. Everyone else was there, her father, Robbie Ray, and his new girlfriend, new friends, old friends, celebrities…regular people…like me. It was so odd to see all these people together again, especially looking so pulled together and…adult. It had been years since we'd all been in the same place at the same time. Everyone held glasses of pink champagne, upon the guest of honor's request, and everybody looked so far from the young kids I'd known them as. Even Jackson, her annoying big brother, who I hadn't seen in over four years, had grown up, looking extremely sharp and confident and not-so-annoying, with a pretty blonde hanging on his arm. Me? I was twenty-two, single, and clothed in casual Versace pants and a complementary button-down shirt, paired with these stupid $700 Prada shoes I had bought on a whim, hoping that…well, never mind. It was a pretty stupid idea, anyway…I mean, who spends that much on shoes, right? Well…yeah. I had skipped out on college and was now headed for the top in a major production company, due to the help of a childhood friend…Jake Ryan. Anyway. I never would have seen myself here in a million years, had you asked me ten years ago, but then again, I also would never have picture Lilly in a dress. As I glanced around the room, I caught eyes with her for a second, as she was giggling with Ashley Tisdale and gushing over bridesmaid dresses, from what I could make out from across the room. Granted, Lilly practically screamed everything she said, same as always, so it wasn't difficult to eavesdrop on the dialogue. I grinned at her fondly. Some people never change. She winked at me and continued her conversation animatedly. Lilly, having long ago filled out in all the right places, did look beautiful in a cream-colored dress with some kind of complicated ruffles at the bottom. Granted, I did a double take when I first saw the plunging neckline of the dress, but that was mainly due to me being a guy. She was beautiful, but not…

Her. The room exploded into clapping and cheering, and everyone raised their glasses in respect. My eyes shot up to take her in, to see the girl who had captured me for so long. She floated into the room, almost ethereal before my eyes. She was a cloud of pale pink satin and air kisses and smiles, loose ringlets and warm eyes. The buzz of laughter and cheering was laced with "Congratulations!" It just kept coming up over and over again, chiming like a bell, striking me every time I heard it. _Congratulations_. It was like I couldn't get away from the word. I knew I'd have to say it, too. I watched her hug and kiss everyone and smile that big smile of hers, that big smile that she could never fake. Her happiness was taking almost this human form; you could feel it floating thick in the air. I downed my glass of champagne like it was a shot of vodka. I was kind of off to the side, by myself, avoiding any direct contact or socialization with anyone for the time being. She finally made her way over to me, and as I saw her approaching, I swallowed hard and cursed silently, vowing to remember why I was here. To support her happiness.

With someone else.

_God, get me out of here._

"Oliver!" she cried. "I missed you!"

She threw her arms around my neck and kissed my cheek excitedly. I inhaled her familiar perfume, hints of honey and almond, slightly surprised she stilled smelled exactly the same. My mind starting racing as she pressed herself into me; I could feel the curves of her body on my chest, imagining what I… _Not now, big guy. _I panicked, remembering my old coping methods from high school. I recited times tables in my head: _Six times seven is forty-two. Six times eight is forty-eight. Six times nine is –_

She moved back a bit, keeping her left hand on my shoulder, squeezing it gently. I silently thanked God, relieved.

She had traded in her signature dark locks for a middle ground between that and the platinum blonde hair that Hannah sported, since revealing her identity years before. A halo of soft, loose golden brown curls framed her face; her cheeks were tinged pinkish, and she seemed a bit breathless. I was a little breathless myself. And maybe it was just makeup, but I don't know much about that stuff, and her face just radiated this sort of…glow. Her lips, were soft and pretty, so alluring, coated with something shiny, and her eyes, those big warm blue eyes of hers, were focused intently on mine. I just wanted to – I couldn't do this. My mind was reeling; I wanted to leave, just jump in my car and take off, clear my head. But that was a stupid idea. I couldn't leave.

"Miley…It's great to see you," I managed. I couldn't think, I forgot this was her engagement party and for a moment it was just me and her. _What else was I supposed to say? What the fuck else was I supposed to tell her?_

But a moment later, it didn't matter, because a new emotion arranged her face into a smile, an intense gaze, that look that undeniably means one thing. _She's in love_. This was the look I came to see, I came to see the light in her eyes, I came to see her happy because she was my best friend and I wanted her to be…

But there was something funny about that look, because, it was directed at…me.

_Tell her!_ a voice inside me was screaming. I leaned in a bit, dazed, forgetting where I was, back in high school, back in the front seat of my car, back in the scene that delivered my first and only chance to tell her.

"Miley, do you want to go outsi—"

"Jakey!" she burst out, smile only widening, as her soon to be husband appeared out of nowhere, sweeping in to give her a messy kiss on the cheek. She giggled.

He made her _giggle_.

In all my years knowing her, I had never done that.

My heart fell, with the sinking realization that he had been standing behind me during the duration of my so-called "moment". That look would never be mine. It was someone else's. _I am a fucking idiot._ I braced myself, tightening the muscles in my face.

Jake Ryan, tall and sturdy as ever, noticed me only a moment later, turning to me and reaching over to give me a friendly pat on the back. Quite a hard pat on the back, actually. Wow. "Oliver Oken, look at you, Mr. Fancy Business Man."

"New trainer, huh?" I joked meekly, trying not to wince and ignoring the urge the rub the throbbing spot on my back. _Be a man_. Even when trying to be friendly, he made me feel so…small.

He grinned assuredly. Even _I_ could understand why girls fell for his smile. He was good looking in the way I was not, all shaggy blonde hair and striking all-American features. What's worse is, he looked genuinely happy to see me. "He's got me boxing for my new movie. You gotta come try it out soon, man. Once you get in the ring, it's like this crazy rush, I love it. We gotta set something up soon, Oken, it's been too long. I need some of my masculinity back, all this wedding stuff, I mean, don't get wrong, it's not that I don't love pink and ruffles and frou-frou stuff and all, but…" he trailed off, winking at Miley.

She pretended to punch him on the shoulder. He pretended like it hurt.

I pretended like I wasn't dying inside.

"Ooh, there's Vanessa!" Miley squealed suddenly, breaking free from Jake's arm, which was slung around her shoulder. "We'll talk later. Count on that, boys," she added lightly, winking. It was hard to tell at whom it was directed. And then, she was off.

"My girl's a stunner, isn't she?" Jake murmured, really more to himself than to me, watching her float over to the other side of the room to greet the pretty brunette. Underneath all the showiness, he was pretty soft. How come he could play sensitive, but when I did that, I just looked and felt like a giant pussy? "Luckiest guy in the world, I am."

I half-smiled at him. "Eh, she's alright," I forced casually, playfully.

He flashed me that trademark smile of his and good-naturedly replied, "You watch it, bud."

_If only he knew_. I really, really wanted to hate him. But he was a good guy. He really did love her and...he was for her all the things I wasn't. I wished so badly that he would do something, anything to hurt her, that he'd have some kind of huge flaw, and then I'd feel guilty about wishing it, because I didn't want her unhappy.

I was selfish. I tried so hard to be happy about the glow on her face, but all I could think was that I hadn't caused it, and never would.

You know, the thing is, I don't think I ever really stood a chance.

………………………………………………………………………

The party had started to thin out. Miley had been socializing, and you know, being all ecstatic about being engaged to the perfect celebrity boyfriend, celebrating her life as Hannah Montana, _perfect_ pop princess who had just found her _perfect fucking_ prince and…I…I digress. Uh. Yeah. Point being, I, um, hadn't spoken to her one-on-one again yet.

"I know your secret," Lilly announced knowingly in my ear. Startled, I spun around, nearly smashing my beer in her face. Close call.

"What secret?" Oops. That came out a bit more anxiously than I'd meant for it to. _Relax, man_. I cleared my throat. "I don't have a secret." Seeing an opportunity for subject change, I teased her, "Neither do you, anymore." I wiggled my eyebrows at her and exaggeratedly stared at her cleavage. "Nice rack."

Didn't even crack a smile. She brushed me off, rolling her eyes and ignoring my brilliant humor. "Oh, puh-lease. You're so immature. And you're also–" She lowered her voice to a hush, and leaned in closer to me. "You're also in love with Mrs. Jake Ryan." She finished with a satisfied smirk.

"No, I'm not!" I retorted defensively. _Damn her for knowing me so well._

"Don't bother, I'm not only a psychic, but I know when you're lying too. And I shouldn't be telling you this, but you look so sadly pathetic that…" She glanced around, and I followed her glance, to Miley, across the room, talking to her father with a huge grin on her face, but never taking her eyes off Jake, who was standing a few feet away, engaged in some sort of arm wrestling competition with Jackson.

"Well anyway," she began, turning back to me, her hand brushing my forearm lightly. I looked at her hopefully. Lilly did know me too well. "Your chance passed, babe. She's in love now." She shot me a look, like, _Sorry, man._

That memory stung. I had worked up the courage to tell her, tell her I had been in love with her since I found out she was Hannah, tell her that clearly she wasn't interested in me as Hannah and therefore not as Miley either. I had kind of given up through most of high school – I had other girlfriends, I fell in love once or twice; and she had been on-off with Jake for quite some time; unsure about being with a guy who was so in the spotlight, and then there was the whole matter of tabloids claiming Jake was cheating on his pop-star girlfriend Hannah Montana with a small-town girl named Miley Stewart and…they were off at the time. We'd been spending a lot of time together; I was always the best friend, her shoulder to cry on when she and Jake had issues. It was the night after graduation; she was depressed over the whole split with Jake, and to cheer her up, I took her out to beach with a picnic and a bottle of cheap wine. We skipped all the big parties to avoid Jake; and Lilly was off somewhere with her then-boyfriend Joe Simms. We were a little giddy by the time we hit the bottom of the bottle. Everything I'd always felt, everything I'd always repressed, it all felt so perfect and right, finally, and something about the way she rested her head on my shoulder made me want to kiss her, and two seconds later, I was. For less than a minute, this amazing minute, the world was fair. And then…and then some girl darted onto the beach from some party, puking and interrupting us…but the next day I had my chance. I drove her home, and I had my chance to tell her, and I choked. If she didn't reciprocate how I felt…I'd rather never know. I blamed the kiss on the alcohol, although either of us was particularly drunk. The next day, Miley told Jake she was ready for a public relationship, revealed to the press her true identity, and they began dating again. We pretended like nothing ever happened between us. We stayed in contact; I began leaning more on Lilly as my best friend though. It was just too hard to see Miley and Jake together. I skipped college and threw myself into my job, and Miley and Jake continued their careers in the spotlight. Separate they were successful; together, unstoppably the next Brangelina. Fast-forward four years and they're engaged, and she's glowing.

Jackson, Robbie Ray, and Jake flew past me, excitedly yelling something about checking out Jake's new Ferrari outside. Hardly anyone was left. A couple was swaying to a jazzy tune on the dance floor, and a few were huddled in small groups towards the edge of the room.

Lilly softened. "Sorry, Ol." She chewed the inside of her cheek intently for a moment, thoughtfully adding, "You know, somebody else has been watching you all night. It's time to move on, doll." She rubbed my shoulder. "I gotta find Ash." She spun around, hair flying everywhere, and left me standing there, dazed.

I knew Lilly was trying to tell me something important but I was so consumed by this unrequited love-lust thing that her message was lost on me. I saw Miley out of the corner of my eye, lowering herself onto a chair at an empty table. I slowly faced her and began walking toward her. _Come on, be a good friend. This is your fault, not hers_.

"Hi."

Her head snapped up. She smiled, pleased to see me approaching. Her smile was beginning to look weary, but not forced, still genuine.

"This seat taken?" I asked nervously. I'm not so sure why I was nervous. For a moment I forgot why I had wandered over here.

"Yes…by my best friend! Sit," she barked. "I've barely spoken to you all night!" She patted the seat next to her, and I sat, grateful it was a foot or two away from hers.

"Why, thank you, my lady," I cracked, attempting to soothe my nerves. It worked; I relaxed a little bit. "This is a great party."

"Yeah, but I'm exhausted from greeting so many people! I can't wait to get into a bath and then just _sleep_. Mm."_ Note to self: Do _not_ think of her in the bath._

"So Jake tells me he heard you're getting promoted next week?"

I cringed inwardly upon hearing the name, yet another reminder of how much I _needed _Jake as well. Even my success was to his credit. I name-called myself. _Loser._ But I played it cool, clearing my throat and responding, "Yeah, no big. I'm not up there yet. I'm hoping I'll own my company within the next few years."

She sighed, feigning wistfulness. "And to think, a few years ago you were shooting snot rockets out of your nose with my brother."

"Hey, hey." I held my hand up to her face. "Respect. I still got the record thirteen feet."

She laughed loudly, wrinkling her nose. "You are _still_ a dork." She glanced around the room, eyes sweeping over the multitude of decorations. She looked down at her ring, and I suddenly noticed it for the first time. "Ooh," she cooed, holding her hand to her face so I could see clearly. "My ring!" Oh, I didn't need her to hold her hand up. A huge sparkling blue diamond, set in platinum. "I didn't want to be a showoff, but now that just you're around, it's like in _Titanic_, that blue diamond, is it amazing or what? I don't know where he found it, or got it, and he refuses to tell me, but Jake, his friends tell me he went crazy for months getting this," she gushed.

God, I hated the way she looked when she said his name. Like she was…happy. _Oh, no_. Stop being a jerk-off, I scolded myself. She really did look beautiful, ethereally glowing and happy. And that, that was what I wanted for her. I felt like such a dick; I hadn't even congratulated her on the engagement yet. Softly, I began, "So anyway, I meant to tell you before, Miles…"

I suddenly realized she was kind of staring off, not really listening. "I miss you, Ols. The last time we really hung out alone was…graduation, wasn't it?"

Whoa. Not what I expected. But what the hell, she could be casual about it, so could I. "I think so, ma'am," I replied lightly, when what is really wanted to say was _Of course I remember, every damn day I remember!_

"Remember when that girl ran out on the beach throwing up, and she threw up in your shoe?" She laughed softly to herself, not looking at me.

Did I remember! I wanted to kill her. That girl, to this day I still don't know her name, but if I ever see her again, I will thank her for destroying my love life. I forced on a happy face and mustered, "And you threw the shoe right back at her, you devil."

She giggled. "You were so cute, all helpful and trying to carry her to the water, and I was just pissed because she interrupted on…" her voice trailed off. Her eyes locked on mine, almost searchingly. The intensity of her eyes was burning me, questioning me, but I couldn't look away.

_I live for you_, I wanted to say. "Miley, that night was…"

What was I doing? _Stop it now. Not the time or place. You are _too_ late._ "I should've told you that, um…" _That I'm in love with you and it was the best night of my life._

I had her full attention now. Our faces were inches apart, eyes locked, unwavering, and her hand was lightly moving towards my arm. "I know it means nothing now but you deserve to know that I–"

"Oh please, old man!" Jake's voice boomed distantly, from the entrance, as he playfully poked Robbie Ray in what had developed into a soft gut over the years. Miley's eyes left mine to watch the scene across the room, and they quickly focused back on me, but something in me broke. I never had a chance. Jake was her one. Always had been.

Always would be.

I never stood a chance.

"What were you saying, Oliver?" I watched her following Jake and her father out of the corner of her eye, watched the corners of her lips that threatened to turn upwards into a smile any moment; that she held frozen for my benefit.

I had come because I loved to see her happy, right? My voice broke. "Nothing. Congratulations," I managed unsteadily. "I'm really happy for you, Miles." I lowered my head and stared uncomfortably at my shoes. My stupid Prada shoes. She didn't notice, or care about the damn shoes. I am an asshole.

Jake marched over to our side of the table, out of nowhere, and declared, "There's my girl!" You know, he wasn't even threatened by me. He barely noticed how close I'd been to his fiancé, the pathetic glances I'd been sneaking of her all night. Or maybe he did notice and didn't care, thought it was cute in a sad, lovesick puppy way. He probably thought I was a big joke too; as in, why the hell would I be a threat to him? He swept down to kiss her.

Then suddenly, noticing me, he added, "Oken, you didn't see the Ferrari yet, come on out! Come on, let's take her out for a test ride."

I knew deep down that he wasn't trying to be obnoxious; he just, like me, couldn't keep his hands off her. The only difference was, he was allowed, and I wasn't.

His touch was wanted, and mine wasn't.

I always thought my second chance was just around the corner, that I'd always somehow be able to reclaim it.

Doesn't work that way.

And so I did the hardest thing I've ever done. I stood up and left with Jake, knowing that I left my a huge piece of my heart with the girl at that table, and that I would never be able to get it back. Things were the way they were for a reason, and it was my fault.

I had blown my only chance a long time ago, and I could never change that.

_Congratulations, Oken._

………………………………………………………………………

_Is that seat taken _

_Congratulations _

_Would you like to take a walk with me _

_My mind it kind of goes fast _

_I try to slow it down for you _

_I think i'd love to take a drive _

_I want to give you something _

_I've been wanting to give to you for years _

_My heart _

_My heart, my pain won't cover up _

_You left me.. hu hu hu hu _

_My heart won't take this cover up _

_You left me.. hu hu hu hu _

_I came to see the light in my best friend _

_You seemed as happy as you'd ever been _

_My chance of being open was broken _

_And now you're Mrs. him. _

_My words they don't come out right _

_But I'll try to say i'm happy for you _

_I think I'm going to take that drive _

_I want to give you something _

_I have wanted to give to you for years _

_My hearts _

_My heart, my pain won't cover up _

_You left me.. hu hu hu hu _

_My heart _

_My heart won't take this cover up _

_You left me.. hu hu hu hu _

_And I can't change this _

_I can never take it back _

_But now I can't change your mind _

_(You left me) _

_And I can't this _

_I can never take this back _

_But now I can't change your mind _

_can't change your mind _

_(You left me) _

_Can't change you mind _

_(You left me) _

_(You left me) _

_(You left me) _

_(You left me) _

_Go away _

_Make it go away _

_Please._


End file.
